SFBAPG meeting this Saturday, August 27, 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.

Fort Mason in San Francisco
Building C, Room 205

Tim Giugni will perform his new work-in-progress entitled "1906." Bring snacks to share!

Come early! This is a great opportunity to visit (or re-visit) The Craft and Folk Art Museum which is currently exhibiting 70+ puppets from the Alan Cook Collection. The exhibit's last day is Sunday, August 28.

Please note that the starting time of this SFBAPG meeting was listed incorrectly in your August newsletter. It starts at 5:00, not 5:30.

Looking for a person or persons to give a workshop, presentation, work-in-progress or
performance at the next Guild meeting.

Please, either call or email me,
Tim Giugni
707.963. 825nine
tim teatrocalamari dot com

PS: If you can't do your thing in September, maybe some other time?

Looking for a group of 3 to 5 people that would like to plan our annual Holiday Party.

The one that happens in January.

Contact Tim Giugni, 707.963.82five9 or tim teatrocalamari dot com

Job opportunity -- Happy Hollow Park & Zoo in San Jose

Puppet Theater Coordinator (Part-time)

Type of Job: Open to all Applicants
Requisition #: CSJ-2005-0296
Department: Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Services
Open Date: August 15, 2005
Close Date: September 09, 2005
Benefit Level: Part-Time with Benefits
Salary: $17.48 to $21.23

*A Puppet Theater Coordinator is responsible for
supervising staff of four to five puppeteers in
the daily performance of puppet shows for park
guests, projects and other duties; conducts
performance appraisals for puppeteer staff;
coordinates and initiates the development of new
puppet shows for in-park and outreach
performances; works with staff in the creation of
story lines, puppets, scenery and props and
recording of puppet shows; develops, coordinates
and supervises puppetry workshops, programs and
events; maintains a safe and clean work
environment in the puppet theater; and assists
with cash handling and fee collection.

This classification is represented by the
Municipal Employees Federation (MEF) Local 101.

Desirable Qualifications
The ideal candidate will possess the most
desirable combination of training, skills and
experience, as demonstrated in past and current
employment history. Desirable experience,
knowledge and skills for this position include:
Knowledge of the principles and practices of supervision
Knowledge of puppet theatre productions and
presentations, set and prop building, puppet
construction and design and safe practices and
safe practices and procedures in public
presentations.
Ability to supervise, train and assign employees and volunteers.
Ability to oversee puppet theatre operations and presentations.
Ability to develop and maintain effective working
relationships with the public, staff and
volunteers
Ability to communicate effectively both verbally and in writing.

Minimum Qualifications
Any combination of training and experience equivalent to the following:
Education: Successful completion of two (2) years
of college course work from an accredited college
or university in Theater Arts, Drama or related
field.
Experience: Two (2) years of experience as a puppeteer.
License/Certificate: Possession of a valid California driver's license.
Acceptable Substitutions: A Bachelor's degree
from an accredited college or university in
theatre arts or drama can substitute for the
required education and experience: or two years
as a puppeteer can substitute for the required
education.
Employment Eligibility: Federal law requires all
employees to provide verification of their
eligibility to work in this country. Please be
informed that the City of San José will not
prepare or file a labor condition application
with the Dept. of Labor.

Application Process
If you are an interested candidate who meets the
minimum qualifications, you can be considered for
this vacancy by applying online.
If you are currently viewing this announcement
online, and you would like to apply using the
online application feature, scroll to the bottom
of this announcement and click on "Apply to this
Position."
If you are not currently online, to find the
announcement, go to http://jobs.cityofsj.org.
Click on "Open Recruitments." Click on "Puppet
Theater Coordinator" to view the job
announcement. Click the "Apply to this Position"
button at the bottom of the job announcement to
apply.

Selection Process
The selection process will consist of an
evaluation of the applicant's training and
experience based on the application, resume and
answers to the job-specific questions. Only those
candidates whose backgrounds best match the
position will be invited to interview.

You will be prompted to answer the following
supplemental questions in the online application
process.
Briefly describe your background, skills, and
abilities, which have prepared you to perform the
job of Puppet Theater Coordinator.
Do you have supervisory experience? If so,
please include the number of years experience,
the number of staff you supervised, reporting
structure, and your role and responsibilities as
a supervisor.
Do you have experience providing staff training?
If so, briefly describe your experience. Include
the number of staff trained, topics, and how you
presented trainings.
Please describe what steps you have taken or
would take to develop a new puppet show
production.
What is an appropriate role for the Puppet
Theater Coordinator to ensure excellent guest
service to the public? Provide a brief example
of excellent guest service that you have provided.
You must answer all job-specific questions in
order to be considered for this vacancy or your
application will be deemed incomplete and
withheld from further consideration.

If you have any questions regarding the duties
for this position, please contact Peggy Rudd at
(408) 277-3O62, or by e-mail at
peggy.rudd sanjoseca dot gov.
If you have questions, comments or concerns about
the recruitment, selection or hiring process,
please contact Kelly Wright at (408) 975-1four64.

August 20, Saturday workshop,or Saturday Sept 10th
Enjoy a day & night by the Sea!

Build a Wire Structure with a Little Mask
a Puppet on a Head
Saturday,August 20 in Bolinas, 11-6 p.m.You may take either one or
both. Sha Sha will guide you through several techniques she uses to
create small masks and structure. Cast a mask from Sha Sha's
collection of masks then customize. Build a wire structure onto which
to suspend or mount . The wire structure becomes a headdress
structure.Enjot the excitement of pasting fabrics and paper onto it
and decorate and add whimsical projections to suit. Put a light into
it to have it glow as a shadow box theatre or lantern.Mount it to you
head to transform into a puppet to wear it and shake it at the
performance on the 26 and 27th at Theater Artaud. Spend the day
learning some of the Sha Sha techniques and dance with what you have
made on the beach after the workshop! Bring a
stick,scissors,pliers,and any decorative materials you might have.All
the other materials will be supplied.$75 includes most materials
You may arrange for to stay at the cozy art cottage and stay the
night before or after to make more through the night. Hike and walk
along the beach ,have dinner in the village. Sha Sha will come and
see what you have made the next morning! 415-868-2409

August 26, 27, Performance!
Sha Sha will appear in an exerpt of her work Black Twig in a White
Sea with music by Nanos Operetta at Theater Artaud.
3 DROPS OF BLOOD - Installment VII Nanos Operetta presents the 7th installment of the 3 Drops of Blood dance and music performance series curated by Ali Tabatabai. Featuring performances by minimalist composer Arnold Dreyblatt (Berlin) along with the Chepikov String Quartet, dancer/sculptor Sha Sha Higby, composer Frank Pahe(Ann Arbor) performing his new quartet for toy and automatic instruments, performance group Rapt Productions, and new music ensemble Nanos Operetta. For reservations please call (415) 561-1444, nanosoperetta.com.

On Saturday September 10
A continuation of August 20th.11-6 in West Marin with new
techniques. Enjoy another day by the sea! Sha Sha Higby will share
multiple aspects of her craft.Participants will explore the mysteries
of creativity and performance in this on going hands-on sculptural
mask making and dancing puppet workshop. Puppets give you an endless
source of pleasure in their creation, theatrical imagery, and ability
to transform and perform. We will also work primarily with threads
and raffias in the masks for this class. Using intuition,movement,and
poetry,you will be led through Sha Sha's process: a myriad of
techniques for the construction of a puppet which can grow into a
three- dimensional costume. Use it to help create your own
performance-like ritual . Learn to cast and mold, and recast,add
hands and extensions, different textural decorating techniques ,
enter another world. wild, powerful, humorous, and flamboyant. For
the beginner and advanced.
$75./ $37. child with parent. includes materials. Fee to Sha Sha
covers most all sculptural and casting materials,crinoline,foils for
decorating,dyes,patinas, silk roving, and organic materials etc.To
the workshop wear loose and dark clothing Bring a bag snack. Bring
only if you have any or some of the following: twigs , personal
decorating materials such as colored paper,tissue paper, scraps of
fabric,or yarn ,pastels,wire cutters,scissors,stapler, masking tape,
thin or thick wire,notebook. Sha Sha will bring special molding,
crinoline,gold foils,and sculpting materials used in class.
415-868-24O9

Sha Sha Higby
P.O. Box 152
Bolinas,CA 94924
phone/fax 415-868-24O9
http://www.shashahigby.com
shasha shashahigby dot com

In case you didn't get this flier in the mail
with your SFBAPG dues renewal, here it is again:

After the Fairyland event, plan to drive north!

You are cordially invited to the Fond Farewell & Fund Raiser Party for

HOOPLA THE CLOWN
and the
HILDEGRINI PUPPETS
(SINCE 1973!)

Mary Hildebrand Nagler (aka Hoopla the Clown) has recently been accepted into the Graduate Masters Degree Program of the University of Connecticut in PUPPETRY! She is very excited to be admitted to this prestigious program! This means a CROSS-COUNTRY MOVE and OUT-OF-STATE TUITION (yikes!) for the first year. To help her line up her ducks (and rubber chickens), her Clown Friends, Puppetry Friends, and Church Friends are coming together:

AUGUST 20th, 2005
3:00 PM-6:00 PM

SANTA ROSA CHRISTIAN CHURCH
1315 PACIFIC AVENUE
SANTA ROSA, CA 95404
(Parking in the back)

What for?
To throw her a
Fund Raising & Fond Farewell Party!
And YOU are invited! Bring the kids!

What does it cost? For a mere $5.00 per person gate fee, you get:

FREE
Entertainment throughout the event!
MC'd by Jean Paul Valjean, World Famous Juggling Empressario!
& Free Balloon Animals!
& Face Painting By Clownglomeration!
Popcorn and Cotton Candy!
Games and Door Prizes!

There will also be a delicious Bar-B-Que
available for $5.00 per person! Such a deal!
Big family discounts apply, so bring Grandma & Grandpa too!

SEE YOU THERE!

The SFBAPG hosts Puppet Faire at Oakland's Fairyland tomorrow -- 10:00 a.m to 5:00 p.m. (latest). If you have cool puppets to exhibit, bring them early (prefer before 10:00 a.m.). If you have puppet-related stuff to sell, bring a list of your inventory, and make sure all your merchandise is labeled with ID and price.

12:30 is the meeting with Paul Mesner, President of the Puppeteers of America. Bring your questions, compliments and concerns, along with your lunch. Cake and drinks provided!

FREE entrance to the park is granted only if you can show the ticket takers either your SFBAPG ID or a copy of the yellow flier you received in the mail.

There is free parking on Grand Avenue, but it's sometimes full. Parking on Bellevue is $3.

After Fairyland, don't forget to drive north to Santa Rosa for Mary Nagler's Fond Farewell / Fund Raiser Party. It's gonna be fun.

Updated 8/17! See below.
Transfer of Finances: Guild Comes Face to Face With Homeland Security

After 20 years of safeguarding the Guild's finances, retiring treasurer Pam Brown handed over the fiscal reins to new treasurer Valerie Nelson recently. The Guild's bank account at West America Bank was to be transferred to a West America Bank branch close to the new treasurer in Yountville. But times have changed since Pam first took charge of the money, and transferring the account to a new branch brought the Guild under the watchful eye of Homeland Security. As of this writing the Guild's finances are still frozen in spite of having provided the bank with a copy of Guild bylaws, a roster of our officers and a copy of our minutes. Negotiating past deadlines and threats of account termination, Valerie has struggled to meet government demands for information. The frozen account now awaits the arrival of Guild secretary, Emily Giugni who needs to sign the minutes in person. Emily, along with Guild president Tim Giugni (coincidentally husband and wife) chose this of all weeks to attend the National Puppetry Festival (so far rumors of their being in an undisclosed location in Cuba have not been substantiated) but President Tim's palm pilot maneuverings helped delay the closing of the Guild account when he emailed a brief version of the minutes to Valerie to deliver to the bank. West America Bank representatives have apologized for the difficulties and for the temporarily frozen Guild funds, but their hands are tied.

UPDATE: August 17, 2005

First of all, let me state that our bank account is now open and all is settled.

Apparently our guild has received some news attention for our encounter with Homeland Security regulations as reported in our newsletter. Above is the story as it ran in the August, 2005 newsletter. Since then, several board members and your newsletter editor have received calls from MSNBC exploring the event for a possible story, we have received emails from as far away as South Africa, including some very kind offers of financial assistance, and our website activity has increased 10 fold in just a few hours (reported last night by our webmaster, Matt Baume). Part of the reason may have to do with a posting by a past guild president on a blog :

Text of posting:

Tuesday, August 16, 2005
I feel safer: Homeland Security vs. San Francisco Bay Area Puppeteers Guild Brian Stokes says: "I kid you not. My beloved San Francisco Bay Area Puppeteers Guild is under investigation by Homeland Security. According to their latest newsletter, its assets have been frozen ever since my friend and Treasurer Pam Brown resigned after 20 years and passed the miniscule nest egg to a new bank account a few months ago. The bank apologizes but legally can't do anything until Homeland Security determines this group of puppet fans and professionals is not planning to attack our country.

"This is the Guild where Jim Henson met a young Frank Oz and Jerry Juhl back in the 1960s. Not long ago, I was President, and before that, Secretary.

"But now our government thinks it's harboring terrorists." Posted at:
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/08/16/i_feel_safer_homelan.html

Clarification of Guild Bank Transfer, from Treasurer Valerie Nelson: The main difficulties in transferring the account had to do with new regulations by Homeland Security. Unfortunately the bank representative, possibly not totally familiar with the new regulations, revealed them one at a time. Each time it seemed that the situation was settled and then a new phone call would reveal yet another hoop to jump through. In the meanwhile the account and its funds remained frozen, with the constant threat of account closure
should the required tasks not be completed in time. The bank made constant concessions, extending the deadline date for us, and apologized profusely and regularly, but seemed bound by the regulations passed on to them by the main office from Homeland Security. In essence, by the time we were finished we had had to provide a copy of our bylaws, a copy of our minutes, signed by the secretary, a list of our board members, along with signatures on documents by the treasurer, the secretary and the past treasurer. This
process took a total of about 3 weeks.

Another update, this one from Mary: The account has to be investigated by the bank -- not by the Homeland Security Department, per se -- to make sure it meets new regulations. The issue is not that the puppeteers may or may not be planning to attack the country. The issue is that the bank account needs to meet the new regulations. Jim Henson met Frank Oz and Jerry Juhl in 1961 at a Puppeteers of America National Festival at Asilomar.

Greetings Guild Members,
Due to some end of the month travel plans I want to get the newsletter done early, so please send your newsletter items to me by Aug 25 (earlier if possible).

I am especially looking for writeups on the festival (and photos, but please decrease their resolution as I have a slow dialup connection...or let me know what you have and I can perhaps request (tel: 707-257-8OO7)...I am especially looking for photos of guild members, puppet celebrities, puppets, shows. Thanks)

Also:
Classifieds
Calendar listings
Puppet Stories
Puppet Projects
What are you doing with puppets now (what are your current projects or plans?)
Anything else?

Send your submissions to mail magicalmoonshine dot org or Box 2296, Yountville, CA 94599. Thanks.

Also, don't forget to send in your dues to renew your guild membership (if you did not get your renewal form in the mail, contact treasurer Valerie Nelson at mail magicalmoonshine.org or 707-257-8OO7.)

Thanks,
Michael Nelson, newsletter editor

This article is from Playbill.com:

Carl Harms, a Major Player in Actors' Equity's Development, Dead at 94

By Kenneth Jones
12 Aug 2005

Carl Harms

Carl Harms, actor, puppeteer and long-time board member of Actors'
Equity Association who helped steer the union for more than 50 years,
died Aug. 11 in New York City after a short illness, according to
Equity.
more...

Dear SFBAPG Members,
The Children's Fairyland is close at hand and we are short of volunteers. I require only 4 more people to help at this event to make it a success. Can you find the time to come and help out in a fun environment?

When: August 20th, Saturday from 10 am to 5:30 pm. Spend the day or give us a couple hours of your time and see some interesting puppet shows.

Some of the jobs that need to be filled:
Puppet display: set-up, take down and question answering.
Make and take puppets: Set-up, take down and helping kids with construction.

Please let me know,
Tim Giugni
tim teatrocalamari dot com

Check your mailboxes tomorrow and Saturday. A mailer is coming with details re: Fairyland's Puppet Faire on August 20 -- featuring special guest Paul Mesner, President of The Puppeteers of America. Paul is flying here from Missouri!

Also included in the mailer is (1) an invitation to a Fond Farewell / Fund Raiser Party for Mary Nagler which will be held in Santa Rosa immediately following the Fairyland Puppet Faire; (2) information about the August 27 performance/meeting at Fort Mason; and (3) your 2005-2006 dues renewal envelope.

Please note that August 27 Fort Mason meeting starts at 5:00 and not at 5:30. There is an error in the Guild's August newsletter. (My fault.)

Also, please note that Alan Cook's Puppet Exhibit is still at the
Craft and Folk Art Museum in Fort Mason and will be there until the day after the Saturday, August 27 SFBAPG meeting. So, you might consider getting to Fort Mason early on the 27th to check out this wonderful exhibit before tootling over to the SFBAPG performance/meeting at 5:00.

Joe Leon is pleased to announce:
http://homepage.mac.com/joeleon/Drawings/PhotoAlbum55.html
Now Showing: sixteen drawings I did at the Festival. Just click on the link to see.
Best Wishes,
Joe Leon

The Autumn 2005 Art Doll Quarterly features a long article with many photographs of the "marionettes" of Scott Radke. I doubt that they are really workable marionettes, instead are dolls hung on strings, but the artist says they really do work. According the article "Some people think Scott's puppets are eerie, creepy - perhaps a little macabre. While he admits that some of them do reflect a more melancholy side of this personality, he finds this dark interpretation of them bemusing, given their genesis." There is a Tim Burton quality about them, all dressed in black with odd white faces. Very interesting.

As you hopefully know, the SFBAPG will be at Children's Fairyland on August 20th. What you might not know is that we need:

Volunteers to run an arts and crafts area from 12pm to 3pm.
Dedicated volunteers to set up, supervise, and take down a Display of puppets from 10am to 5pm.

I would like to have enough people to rotate everyone once and have a longish break for people to take a look at the other events that are happening at the park.

Parking is not free. Admission will be with your membership card or name on the volunteers list.

If you would like to participate, please contact your NEW president at tim teatrocalamari. Please do not assume that I know what you have done for this event in the past. I am NEW, you will have to train me.

Please respond with your level of interest/ability/time by next Wednesday (August 10).

And have a swell day.
Tim Giugni
President

The August 20th Puppet Faire at Fairyland will feature a table where
Guild members may sell items to the public. This is a first! If you
would like to sell any puppet-related items at Puppet Faire, please
contact Mary Decker to get your consignment inventory form --
marydeck earthlink dot net or 65O-361-131O. The Guild will retain 20% of
the proceeds and consignors will take home 80%.

August 27 SFBAPG mtg at Fort Mason starts at 5 p.m.--NOT 5:30 p.m. as
stated in the August newsletter. That was a mistake. (My mistake.)
Please correct your newsletter. The meeting will be relatively short
(until 6:30 or so) and will start on time. Tim Giugni will present a
new work-in-progress. Bring snacks to share! -Mary Decker

Your August Newsletter is now on-line on the guild website. Click on http://www.sfbapg.org/newsletter/archives/000431.html to go directly to it.
In the August issue read about:

Homeland Security impacts Guild
Upcoming meetings and Guild events (2 this month!)
How to make shadow puppets with kids
Guild member News
August Puppet Horror Story
Book Review by Lettie Schubert
Calendar
and much more.

Send your newsletter submissions for September to mail@magicalmoonshine.org - I am hoping for photos and stories from the National Festival....Let those of us who did not get to go share in your experiences.

All the best,
Michael Nelson, Guild newsletter Editor